1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a middleware technology for interworking between a physical network and a higher application in a wired/wireless communication network. More particularly, the present invention relates to a multimedia middleware apparatus using metadata, a control method, and a storage medium that can easily maintain and manage multimedia middleware service components.
2. Description of the Related Art
Middleware is a software layer for use in interworking for a data exchange, and the like, between applications or between an application and a network for providing the services of identification, authentication, security, control, multimedia, and the like, related to devices thereon. That is, when a network connects to an application or applications directly connect to each other, codes should be added to all related applications for communicating with network devices or other applications. Because the middleware supports interworking between a network and an application or between applications, a difficult work for adding codes to the related applications can be omitted.
Among various middleware technologies, a multimedia middleware technology supports, for example, on-line content, Internet broadcast, or digital data broadcast reception. For example, a communication network using the multimedia middleware may be a mobile communication network for providing various packet services to mobile terminals like mobile phones, and the like.
The conventional mobile terminal manufacturers have designed, manufactured, and sold mobile terminals with hardware and software considering functions and services requested by users. However, because a design change is required at every time with the rapid development of mobile communication markets and various requests of the users, a conventional method for designing mobile terminals does not provide sufficient flexibility that can satisfy market requests.
Thus, the mobile terminal manufacturers have proposed a middleware technology for interfacing between a platform of a mobile terminal and a higher application while considering limitations in the conventional mobile terminal design method. Whenever a new application is embedded using the middleware technology, various middleware applications can be supported without largely changing a design of the mobile terminal.
In an example of the mobile communication network, the conventional multimedia middleware technology is provided in the form of a binary executable file or a binary library file in which middleware service components are simply implemented. Thus, the conventional multimedia middleware is used by calling an associated binary executable file or an associated binary library file while a multimedia application runs. A multimedia processing function of middleware is managed by reconfiguring service components and replacing an existing service component file when a new function is added to the service components.
Because the conventional multimedia middleware should reconfigure service components whenever a new function is added to the service components, it is difficult to maintain the service components. Further, because the existing service components should be replaced for a new multimedia application, there is a significant inconvenience in managing middleware.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved multimedia middleware apparatus and method that maintains the multimedia middleware service components and manages the multimedia middleware.